George Zimmerman is in custody, the AP reports. He will be charged with second-degree murder.
Florida special prosecutor Angela Corey plans to announce as early as this afternoon that she is charging neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman in the shooting of Trayvon Martin, according to a law enforcement official close to the investigation.
It was not immediately clear what charge Zimmerman will face.
Martin, 17 and unarmed, was shot and killed Feb. 26 by Zimmerman, who said he was acting in self defense. Police in Sanford, Fla., where the shooting took place, did not charge Zimmerman, citing the state’s “stand your ground” law.
Zimmerman just lost his lawyers yesterday, claiming bizarre behavior on the part of their client.
In case you missed it, here’s the wild press conference held by the former attorneys for George Zimmerman, Craig Sonner and Hal Uhrig. This is a slightly lower-quality version is basically to show the horrible camera angle CNN had when they showed it live on the air. Note the people walking in the background staring. It made an already awkward press conference (seriously, who wants to be a lawyer in a high-profile case and admit your client has gone off the grid?) look even more awkward. If you look at some of the other videos, they portrayed the situation a little better. But, by just showing random awkward people in the background, it made the whole thing look even more farcical. In fact, the network appeared to realize this halfway through, showing secondary images on the air and cropping the frame tightly. This is a very serious case. CNN did a disservice to viewers with this poor camera angle.
EDIT: On a related note, special prosecutor Angela Corey says she plans to make an announcement on the case within the next 72 hours.
On Sunday February 26th, I was involved in a life altering event which led me to become the subject of intense media coverage. As a result of the incident and subsequent media coverage, I have been forced to leave my home, my school, my employer, my family and ultimately, my entire life. This website’s sole purpose is to ensure my supporters they are receiving my full attention without any intermediaries.George Zimmerman • Speaking on his Web site, therealgeorgezimmerman.com. Zimmerman, the gunman in the Trayvon Martin incident, says that he needs legal help and funding on the site. The site features photos in support of Zimmerman, including a vandalization incident that took place at a black cultural center in Ohio. The site, which is having connection troubles at the moment, is confirmed as real according to Zimmerman’s attorneys, MSNBC reports.
The state attorney previously investigating the shooting, Norm Wolfinger, had said the case would go to a grand jury on Tuesday 10 April. That grand jury would have decided whether to charge Zimmerman but Wolfinger removed himself from the case on 22 March, and he was replaced by Corey.
Corey said her decision to not to use a grand jury should not be considered a factor in determining whether charges will be filed against Zimmerman.
The announcement means the decision on charges now rests solely with Corey, who Associated Press reported has a reputation for not presenting cases before grand juries unless required. Under Florida law, only first-degree murder cases require the use of grand juries.
Childish Gambino, aka Donald Glover, is known in the rap world for his smart lyrics that hide obscure pop culture references. In “Eat Your Vegetables,” a just-released track, he isn’t so subtle. The first verse ends with “Man I die for my hood, Trayvon.” Rap songs are time capsules, and with a verse like that, “Vegetables” is no exception. But that doesn’t mean Gambino’s afraid of throwing a joke into the tune. Example:
“(Like when someone is like, ‘what happened to Chris?’ And you turn around and there’s a fat guy that kind of looks like Chris And you like, “oh shit” and laughing and shit)”
No word yet if there’s a new album on the way; “Camp” only dropped in November. — Sami @ SFB
During our investigation it became evident that there was an error made in the production process that we deeply regret. We will be taking the necessary steps to prevent this from happening in the future and apologize to our viewers.A message from NBC News • Apologizing for their editing of the 911 tape with George Zimmerman, which removed a 911 interviewer’s question, giving the listener the impression that Zimmerman offered up the race of Trayvon Martin without prompting, when, in fact, he was asked. The Washington Post’s Eric Wemple puts the apology in perspective: “No matter how you feel about Zimmerman, that bit of tape editing was unfair to the truth and to Zimmerman’s reputation, such as it is.”
Watch and enjoy Touré’s complete takedown of Piers Morgan.
In a lot of ways, Touré and Piers are arguing for different schools of journalistic thought here — both with separate sets of supporters and detractors. Piers is concerned about objectivity in this clip, while Toure clearly comes at this with emotion and a fight for “the truth.” In a lot of ways, they’re arguing the party lines that their networks sell. Personally, I think both got hits in. Both looked good at points. Both looked bad at points. But the real story is over here, not in this video, where strong personalities overshadow the story. — Ernie @ SFB
The Rev. Jesse Jackson, 3rd from left, marches with the Rev. Al Sharpton and NAACP President Ben Jealous, middle, during a march to Sanford Police headquarters Saturday, March 31, 2012, in Sanford, Florida. (Arelis R. Hernandez, Orlando Sentinel)
Story (and photo) of the day.
I’m moving back to New York in a few days. Unlike past...
OMG. I got so...
In this week’s Newsweek, a little...
Tumblr this morning. [h/t anne]
#@#$%!.tumblr.com
Here’s a hidden feature that shipped in...
Watch: PCB gets a visual shout out on GMA’s Yahoo/Tumblr...
For people to weigh in, for professional race-baiters like [Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee and Rep. Frederica Wilson], and for the president himself to weigh in and make this a simple parable about white racism is very foolish.Daily Caller editor-in-chief Tucker Carlson • During a debate with Alan Colmes, shortly after a montage was shown of various people weighing-in on the Trayvon Martin case, on Fox News’ “America’s Newsroom.” Carlson argued that President Obama is “making the case that this boy was killed because the way he looks, and we don’t know that all.” Colmes, on the other hand, believed that President Obama took exactly the right tone, saying, “Tucker, if we had a white president and a white boy had been shot and a white president had said that could have been my son, nobody would have said a word about it.” source (via • follow)
Appearing on NBC’s TODAY on Thursday, Zimmerman’s attorney Craig Sonner described the video as “very grainy.” He also pointed out that Zimmerman had been “cleaned-up” and received first aid in the four hours between the incident and Zimmerman’s videotaped arrival at the police station.
Sonner has previously said that his client suffered a broken nose and a gash to his head during the altercation.
Having seen the clip, does Sonner have a point or do you think he’s just muddying the waters?
ABC News releases surveillance video of arrest of George Zimmerman.
ABC News says there are no signs of blood or bruises on Zimmerman in this video taken not long after the shooting. What do you see?
We really just kind of put the shirt out there this week. It’s not necessarily profit at all. I wanted to bring some awareness to the issue. I felt it would be a good way to expose the store, to get our name out there.Young Nation Apparel owner Karriem Muhammad • Discussing his choice to sell a $35 hoodie with the phrase ”Please Don’t Shoot Me I Only Have Skittles And A Drink!!!” on it — a clear reference to the Trayvon Martin case. Muhammad and others are selling apparel referencing the case, some in Sanford, Fla., where the shooting took place. But selling such products is not necessarily an idea with ulterior motives. “People can start to wear their feelings and emotions. It makes sense, even if there’s a profit motive,” noted Donna Hoffman, a marketing professor at the University of California-Riverside. “There’s a legitimate interest in sharing the pain, and these products do that.” Even so, Martin’s mother, Sybrina Fulton, filed for trademarks for products referencing her son, a move intended to block the exploitation of her son’s name. What do you guys think? Are such products exploitative?
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